Diolch, Llywydd. International affairs and decisions whether to launch military action against another sovereign nation are non-devolved matters and, as such, are normally debated in the Houses of Parliament rather than here in the National Assembly for Wales. Debating the UK air strikes in Syria in this Chamber risks blurring the lines between what is debated in the National Assembly and in Parliament. The First Minister answered questions from the leader of Plaid Cymru yesterday about military intervention in Syria; there were also questions during the business statement.

We all have personal views about the merits, rights and wrongs of the UK Government's decision to launch a joint punitive strike alongside the US and France against the regime in Syria at the weekend. As political parties, the forum for these views to be raised is in the Houses of Parliament. There have been nine hours of debate this week in the House of Commons, in which many of our colleagues participated. It's for these reasons the Government will be abstaining in the vote on the application for an urgent debate on the UK air strikes in Syria, and backbench Labour AMs will have a free vote.